Reject me once, Beg me twice

Chapter 9

Destiny's POV.

I took a glimpse at my mirror one last time, before smoothing the invisible creases in my dress. What exactly did one wear to a hunt? If you asked me, I had no idea, which was why I'd been standing in front of the mirror for the past hour trying to figure out if I was ready or if I needed to change for the umpteenth time.

I sighed and the moment my eyes caught a glimpse at the clock on the way, they bulged. It was almost time for us to leave and I still wasn't ready yet. If Fredrick were to find out, he would definitely have my head, that's for sure.

With one last glance at my room, I picked up the black sweater sprawled on the bed and threw it on, before walking out of the room. According to Fredrick, the best time for a hunt was early in the morning, when nature was barely awake. He'd called it a rabbit hunt, but that title didn't particularly sit well with me. As I headed to the living room where we were all supposed to meet, I hope and prayed that we would be hunting real rabbits and that the word rabbits, wasn't a metaphor for something else.

“You're here.” Fredrick said with a curt nod the moment I stepped in. His eyes raked over my outfit and I took the glint in his eyes as approval. “And you're on time too.”

“She wouldn't dare go against you, daddy.” Someone chimed, and before long I realized it was his daughter. “No one dares to go against you.”

“That's enough, Fiona.” Fredrick chimed, and even though there was a hint of annoyance in his voice, Fiona didn't seem to mind. Instead, she smirked at me, before stalking away. “Gather the rest of the men and let's go.”

Without so much as another glance, Fredrick walked out on me, his footsteps kissing the tiled ground. I sucked in a deep breath, before following suit. A wave of men came into view the moment I stepped out of the house. I couldn't count them all, but I knew they were well over a hundred.

Would I be rabbit hunting with all of them? How exactly did they even hunt? And what exactly would I be doing?

“Watch and learn.” Fiona whispered in my ear, bringing me back to the present. it was almost like she had heard my thoughts. “And try to keep up too.”

“Let's go!” Fredrick yelled, before taking the first step. Like moths to a flame, all of the men followed Fredrick and Fiona. I hurried my steps immediately, making sure not to lag behind.

Cold air nipped at the surface of my skin as we walked. Apparently, the sweater was no match for the cold weather. Birds chirped lowly each one waiting for the dun to finally come up .

How were they going to hunt with the temperature as cold as ice, I wondered.

Like mother nature had heard my question, I watched the answer unfold in front of my eyes. We'd already walked a couple of kilometres and had gone a bit past the entrance of the forest, but that wasn't what caught my attention.

I watched with wide eyes as each men bent over. I jerked up as loud screams filled the sky, causing the nearby birds to fly away in different directions. The groans got louder, against the backdrop of bones crushing and breaking into a million pieces. My heart thumped wildly in my chest as I watched the scene in front of me. Like I hadn't suffered enough shock, I watched as fur began to appear on their bodies as they fell on all fours.

A loud howl filled the air as they roared in unison, causing goosebumps to appear on my skin. At the sound of the howl, the birds scattered into a million directions. Trees and branches swayed and I felt something shift in the air. Shivers spiraled down my spine as they all broke out into a run. Furs of different colors rushed in front of me, each one trying to sniff out their next prey.

They were werewolves. Actual werewolves.

A loud groan slid past my lips as a jolt of pain shot up my head. My groan got louder as it spread through my skull, the pain threatening to crush my bones and brain cells. I pressed my eyes shut as the ache spread to the rest of my body. My body tingled and I felt my insides flare up.

“What the-” I muttered, confusion coating my facial expression. “What the hell is happening?”

My breath hitched in my throat as I suddenly found it hard to breathe. My stomach twisted and churned, almost like my guts were being turned inside out. I fell to my knees, unable to take the pain. The different colors of the wolves surrounded my vision, black, white and gray swirling around my eyes, each one buried in their rabbit hunt.

What if one of them caught my scent and decided to attack me? I wasn't exactly in the best shape, but in this condition, a single swipe of their claws over me would do the trick….

“Arrgghh!!” I yelled as a burst of pain surged from my chest. It was fiery hot and as it spread, I felt the flames licking up every part of my body. Sizzling pain was the last thing I felt before the cold hands of unconsciousness embraced me.

*******************

I slowly peeled my eyes open, while simultaneously bracing myself for the worst. The last time I tried to be open about a situation related to this, I regretted it. Twice. A full throb drummed in my ears as a bright light filtered in through my eyes. After blinking a couple of times, I was finally able to keep my eyes open.

White walls surrounded me, and for a quick moment, I couldn't help but think I was in the afterlife again. It had pristine white walls that shone. Even though I wasn't sure they had beds, but the comfort was…

“Finally.” Fredrick's voice pulled me back to earth, confirming that I was very much alive. I jerked up immediately, just to come face to face with a furious Fredrick.

“Um.” I muttered, before trailing off again. I wasn't cleared on what exactly had happened, but I wasn't expecting him to be the first person I saw when I woke up. If anything, tiny part of me felt he would preyed on me if he had the chance.

He hadn't said anything yet, but his eyes every word he wanted to say. He was furious, furious that I'd interrupted his rabbit hunt and furious that I was in his presence too. He hated me, and he never hid that fact.

“What the hell happened?” He finally let out. His icy voice sent shivers down my spine. “Why did you pass out all of a sudden?”

“I have no idea.” I muttered. I hung my head low immediately, not wanting to lock gazes with him. He already thought I was a liar, and now I was hitting him up with the same explanation. “ I don't even know what happened. It just came all of a sudden.”

“Explain.” I nodded.

“ The moment I watched you all transform, it just started.” My voice shook as I spoke. An unpleasant memory replayed in my head and I felt my insides flare up just at the thought of it. “Fire nipped at my skin, almost like I was being set on fire from the inside out. My head ached so bad I thought it would explode. I guess I couldn't take it anymore so I passed out.”

“That's it?” Fredrick's voice was incredulous and laced with sarcasm, but even at that, I couldn't help but noticed the confusion in his eyes. “Is that all?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “I think…”

“Do you remember anything?” The rest of my words died in my throat as he cut me off. “Anything from your previous life? Maybe your name, or if you had a pet?”

I pressed my eyes shut as I tried to recall, anything would be welcome at this point. But as I pressed my eyes tighter, I realized I was just wasting my time. The more I tried to recall, the more confused and lost I felt.

“Nothing?” Fredrick asked and I shook my head. “God damnit!” He exclaimed in anger and I flinched.

“It was supposed to work.” He mumbled. “Even a tiny bit.”

I stared at Fredrick in confusion.

What was supposed to work? What did he mean by that? Did he…

“How do you feel now?” His question caught me off guard. I blinked back a couple of times, as I tried to make sense of what he'd just said. “ Do you feel any better?”

“Yeah.” I mumbled. “ I think so…”

“Good.” Fredrick was on his feet immediately. “Rest up, you'll be needing all of your strength tomorrow.”

Before I had any more chance to react, he turned to me and added.

“We have a party to attend tomorrow. The Alpha's party.”